Dominick Cruz: “I am losing key time, key moments in my life and in the peak of my career.”

A little more than six months ago, UFC bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz was at the high point of his run in the ring. He was coming off consecutive title-defenses against Demetrious Johnson and Urijah Faber, had compiled a 19-1 record despite being years away from his 30th birthday, and was poised to serve as a coach on the UFC’s attempt at producing a live version of the Ultimate Fighter.

However, Cruz is ending the year on a sour note to say the least after re-injuring his surgically repaired ACL and losing another 6-9 months of his career because of it assuming he does come back at all. “The Dominator” discussed the difficult set of circumstances on this week’s episode of UFC Tonight.

“I was with a guy who I train with a million times and we were moving, we were doing 50-percent movement skills with each other, shadow boxing, and I was on with my brace. I was moving and I went to hit a pivot and the tissue just popped. My knee felt unstable and shortly after I got off the mat I said something is wrong,” explained Cruz of his second ACL tear, adding his concern was immediate considering the situation occurred during an activity less rigorous than others he’d done in physical therapy.

“I’ve had my couple of days of cry-baby time,” admitted Cruz of the mental toll the matter has taken on him. “The problem is I am losing key time, key moments in my life and in the peak of my career.”

Cruz also fought back tears at points in the conversation, especially when thinking about the fans who have supported him in the wake of his struggle to stay healthy, as well as those he feels he’s disappointed by being out of commission.

No word was given on whether Cruz will be stripped of his title due to inactivity, though interim champ Renan Barao has been confirmed for a bout with Michael McDonald.

It’s almost always something that doesn’t seem like it’ll screw you up, that ends up screwing you up. For example, I fractured my foot stepping off a curb on a job site, just stepping down off a curb and bam.